Hollywood hacking scandal may be tipping point

LOS ANGELES — The hacking of nude photos of Jennifer Lawrence and other celebrities is only the latest in a long and lurid line of violations of Hollywood privacy dating back to the earliest days of the movies.

But legal experts say the breach — which came to light over the weekend — is an especially troubling one, and the fact that the FBI and federal authorities are taking it seriously may be a sign of a tipping point in the endless war between stars and the bottom-feeding Internet trolls who make the tabloid press look tame.

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“What was done seems clearly illegal, and a clear invasion of privacy,” said Erwin Chemerinsky, a constitutional law professor at the University of California, Irvine. “If those responsible can be found, they could be criminally prosecuted and civilly sued for invasion of privacy. It is the unfortunate reality that there is no guarantee of privacy once something is put on the Cloud or anything else than can be hacked. But the conduct was illegal and tortious, if those responsible can be caught.”

As paparazzi start using drones to do their dirty work, the problem is only worsening. Patrolling cyberspace is an even greater challenge in an era when former President George W. Bush’s private emails (and nude self-portrait) can be hacked and sent racing around the world. Even knowing the evident risks does not lessen the humiliation for victims of the attacks.

“I can only imagine the creepy effort that went into this,” the actress Mary Elizabeth Winstead (“Smashed” and “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter”) wrote on Twitter after nude photos that she took years ago with her husband surfaced online in the latest incident. “Feeling for everyone who got hacked.”

Almost 80 years ago, the leaked diary of the actress Mary Astor set Hollywood and New York aflame with its account of her affair with the playwright and director George S. Kaufman — even if the most sensational testaments to Kaufman’s supposed sexual stamina were forged.

“It was all pretty hairy,” Astor would write years later in her memoirs, describing her ex-husband’s efforts to use the diary’s rumored contents against her in a custody trial over their young daughter. When Astor’s own lawyers sought to introduce the diary’s far tamer actual entries, all of Hollywood’s top moguls gathered with the Bank of America’s A.H. Giannini to block the move, lest it bring dishonor on the entire industry. The diary was sealed by court order and finally destroyed (with Astor’s permission) in 1952.

In today’s digital universe, no such control is possible. But some in both Hollywood and Washington say it is past time to try to rein in the worst breaches without impeding First Amendment rights.

Kate Upton, the niece of Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.), the chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, was among those whose private nude images were apparently hacked. A committee spokeswoman emailed POLITICO on Monday that “the committee is continuing to monitor these latest breaches,” adding: “These incidents further underscore why data security legislation is needed, and the committee is continuing to work toward a workable and bipartisan solution.”

Lawrence’s spokeswoman, Liz Mahoney, told news agencies that “the authorities have been contacted and will prosecute anyone who posts the stolen photo.”

A lawyer for Kate Upton, Lawrence Shire, called the hacked images of his client “an outrageous violation” of her privacy.